Chapter 36 Chapter 36
ELLA
I spent the day following Zane around the pack grounds. He had meetings with his father in the offices, then he had to check on the construction of some new pack member homes.
After lunch, I followed Zane to the training grounds where he had to train with and observe the pack warriors and protectors.
I sat on a bench, watching with wide eyes as my very shirtless and very sweaty mate fought against several pack members in the training field.
I was in awe, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. He was freaking hot and I was getting warm just watching him.
My thoughts were interrupted when Alpha Daniel sat down beside me.
“He’s a good fighter,” he remarked as we watched the men fight.
“He is,” I replied. We sat in silence for a moment before I turned to him.
“Alpha?”
“Hmm?” He looked down to meet my eyes.
“Would you train me?”
Alpha Daniel tried to hide the shock on his face, but he wasn’t very successful.
“You want to train?”
“I’m terrified that what happened in the woods might not be the last time. I don’t want to ever be in that position again. Will you teach me?” I asked.
Alpha Daniel smiled warmly.
“I would be honored.”
I smiled before standing up.
“Can you tell Zane I’m back at the packhouse?”
Daniel nodded.
“We’ll start first thing tomorrow morning.”
I entered the packhouse, excited for my new adventure. I knew I’d enjoy learning to fight, to protect myself.
As I entered the kitchen, I was pulled back and into the back hallway by strong familiar arms.
“I thought you were supposed to stay with me,” Zane whispered.
I inhaled sharply as the closeness of our bodies registered. He was still shirtless, sweat glistening across his chest and hard abs. I tried to keep my mind out of the gutter but wasn’t successful.
My mind was brought back when I heard Zane growl, “Ella.”
“Hmm?” I looked up to meet his eyes, which had begun to darken.
“I can smell your desire. You’re going to drive me crazy.”
I gulped.
“Desire? Gosh, the only thing I desire is for you to take a shower. Nasty man smell.” I waved my hand in front of my nose with a coy smile.
Zane smirked, resting his hands on my hips.
“You could always come help me.”
“Oh darn, I’ve already showered today,” I replied innocently, enjoying teasing him a little too much.
Zane growled before brushing his lips against mine. He turned and walked up the stairs, leaving me a puddle of mush in the hallway.
That evening, Zane and I turned in for bed. I hadn’t told Zane about my training session with his father tomorrow. I wanted it to be a surprise.
And I knew that if he knew about it, he’d want to be there, and I would be too self-conscious to learn in front of him like that.
Zane entered the room and made his way to the closet, walking out with a garment bag.
“So I have a request for you…”
“Okay?” I looked at him skeptically.
“You can say no. But I thought I’d ask.” Zane unzipped the garment bag to reveal a beautiful white dress.
“This was the dress my mom wore to her luna ceremony. I thought you might like to wear it.”
I smiled, tears welling in my eyes.
“Zane, I would love to wear it. It’s beautiful. Thank you!” I threw my arms around him and kissed his cheek.
We only had one more week until the ceremony. I was sad it had been postponed, but now that it was getting closer, I was excited, ready to take my place beside my mate.
The next morning, I woke and quickly got dressed. I put on some athletic leggings and a sports bra under a loose tank along with some running shoes.
I pulled my long chocolate waves into a French braid to keep it out of my face and made my way downstairs, grabbing a bottle of water and waiting out front for Alpha Daniel.
After a few minutes, he stepped outside, smiling.
“Ready?”
“Ready,” I replied, my voice full of determination.
As we walked down the hill, Daniel explained our plan for the morning.
“Okay, so we’re going to do some warm-ups first. Most of training and fighting is building up your endurance. You especially need that now since you’re recovering from injuries.
“We’ll run some laps and do some stretches and basic drills. Then we’ll work on hand-to-hand combat skills. Sound good?”
I shrugged.
“Sounds good to me. I’ll try and do whatever you want me to.”
I worked hard through the drills and stretches, determined to gain my strength back and then some. I wanted to die, and my lungs were on fire, but I knew I needed to do this.
I was determined to prove Mariah wrong. After the drills, we began training.
He showed me basic skills like punching and kicking, and I was proud when he was surprised at the strength of my hits.
“You’ve got a good arm on you!” he said as he shook the sting from his hand.
I smiled, and we danced around each other, jabbing and punching.
As wolves, we were naturally good at fighting, but some were better skilled, and I knew I’d have to work hard to catch up to the other wolves who had been training for years.
After our workout, we made our way back up the hill, sweating and laughing at a joke Daniel had made about my girly kicks.
“There you two are!” Zane growled from the top of the stairs.
“Good morning, Zane.” I smiled warmly, only to be met with a glare.
“Where the hell were you guys? I’ve been looking everywhere.”
Daniel laughed.
“Zane, we were just—” He was interrupted by my elbow jabbing his side.
I gave him a look before turning to Zane.
“We went for a run.”
Zane scowled, and I walked to him and wrapped my arms around him, knowing it would calm him down.
“Thanks for the run, Ella!” Daniel hollered as he made his way upstairs to shower and change.
“You should have told me! I would have gone with you.”
I shrugged.
“You were tired, and your dad wanted to go for a run.”
I felt bad lying to him, but I really wanted my training to be a surprise. Tomorrow, Daniel was going to start teaching me to fight in my wolf form, and I wanted to be able to show Zane.
“I need to shower. See you at breakfast?” I kissed him on the cheek before making my way upstairs.